News from around california

FIRE CLOSES EAST BAY TUNNEL AS DRIVERS FLEE SMOKE: OAKLAND (AP) — A car fire in the tunnel that links Oakland to other east San Francisco Bay area communities has sent motorists streaming out of their cars on foot and eight people to the hospital to be treated for minor smoke inhalation.

California Highway Patrol Officer Daniel Hill said the fire that broke out in an eastbound lane of the Caldecott Tunnel Friday morning was extinguished within an hour.

Hill says officials used the tunnel's ventilation system to clear the thick smoke that filled the channel and were able to allow traffic back through once drivers returned to their abandoned vehicles.

Oakland Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert Lipp says six children and two adults were taken to area hospitals.

In 1982, a fire in the Caldecott Tunnel caused by a collision between a gas tanker and several other vehicles left seven people dead.

SEX OFFENDER ARRESTED AT HALLOWEEN EVENT: RAMONA . (AP) — A convicted sex offender wearing a costume has been arrested for allegedly bothering children and offering them candy at a San Diego-area Halloween event.

Authorities say 29-year-old Danny Shaw was arrested Thursday for investigation of being a sex offender harassing children and failing to register as a sex offender.

Shaw wore white face-paint with red stripes simulating blood at a Trick or Treat party in rural Ramona where there were more than 1,000 children.

San Diego County sheriff's investigators say Shaw approached families and insisted on giving them candy, but the parents refused it. One person allegedly saw Shaw slide candy into one of the children's bags when some parents turned away.

Authorities say Shaw is a sex offender from Oregon who had failed to register when he moved to California.

MAN ARRESTED FOR CHILD ENDANGERMENT: MILPITAS (AP) — A California man has been arrested after he allegedly left his two children alone in a car for about 15 hours.

The San Jose Mercury News reports 29-year-old Julio Reyes was arrested in Milpitas and booked into jail for investigation of child endangerment.

Police say someone called them Wednesday, saying there was a suspicious vehicle parked across from her house during the night. When officers arrived they found a 10-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy inside the SUV.

Authorities believe the children had been left alone in the vehicle since late Tuesday night. Reyes called police — after his children were taken into protective custody — to report his vehicle and children were missing. Police say Reyes told them he was visiting a friend.